Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Onondaga Health Department, SU partner to address campus tobacco-use policies

Friday, September 10, 2010, By News Staff
Share

In an effort to reduce smoking and reduce exposure to secondhand smoke among college students, Syracuse University is partnering with the Onondaga County Health Department (OCHD) through a program called Colleges for Change (C4C).

Administered by OCHD and funded by the New York State Department of Health’s Tobacco Control Program, C4C works with colleges and universities to promote a tobacco-free environment and to limit where and how tobacco products are used, promoted, advertised and sold on and around campus. These goals aim to advance local action to prevent and reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.

The C4C program was developed in response to New York state data showing that adults ages 18-24 have the highest smoking prevalence in New York. Since passage of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement in 1998, 18-25-year-olds, the youngest legal market for the tobacco industry to target, are heavily targeted by the industry.

The American College Health Association’s most recent guidance regarding tobacco use encourages colleges and universities to be diligent in their efforts to achieve a 100 percent indoor and outdoor campus-wide tobacco-free environment.

Cynthia Morrow, commissioner of health for Onondaga County, views the SU and OCHD cooperative effort as an exciting opportunity for strengthening tobacco control on the campus and in the community. “This partnership is an excellent way to actively engage college-age adults to address young adult tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke,” she says.

C4C directs numerous evidenced-based initiatives focusing on changing social norms around tobacco use in the college campus environment. These include:

  • “No Thanks Big Tobacco”: Tobacco companies have a long history of sponsoring events, both on and off campuses, and contributing to the arts and not-for-profit organizations. C4C will work to end tobacco company sponsorship both on and around the SU campus. 
  • Smoke-Free Housing: Although New York residential halls are smoke-free, those students living off campus are not guaranteed the same right. C4C will work to encourage off-campus apartment complexes and other multi-unit housing properties where students reside to adopt written non-smoking policies. 
  • Tobacco-Free/Smoke-Free Outdoors: Communities across the country and in New York state are implementing ordinances and laws prohibiting smoking in outdoor venues in the interest of limiting exposure to secondhand smoke and lessening the appeal of smoking. C4C will focus on changing policies or passing ordinances related to the use of tobacco products on the college campus and outdoor areas in the surrounding community. 
  • Point of Sale: C4C will encourage the college campus to adopt a written policy banning the sale of tobacco products on campus.

For more information, contact Katelyn M. Upcraft, public health educator, Tobacco Control Program, at (315) 435-3280 or KatelynUpcraft@ongov.net.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Art Museum Acquires Indian Scrolls Gifted by SUNY Professor
    Wednesday, July 23, 2025, By Taylor Westerlund
  • Mihm Recognized for Fostering ‘Excellence in Public Service for the Next Generation’
    Wednesday, July 23, 2025, By Jessica Youngman
  • Rabbi Natan Levy Appointed Campus Rabbi for Syracuse Hillel and Jewish Chaplain at Hendricks Chapel
    Tuesday, July 22, 2025, By Dara Harper
  • Imam Amir Durić Appointed Assistant Dean for Religious and Spiritual Life at Hendricks Chapel
    Tuesday, July 22, 2025, By Dara Harper
  • College of Law’s Veterans Legal Clinic Receives Justice for Heroes Grant
    Tuesday, July 22, 2025, By Robert Conrad

More In Campus & Community

Mihm Recognized for Fostering ‘Excellence in Public Service for the Next Generation’

Chris Mihm, adjunct professor of public administration and international affairs in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, has received the 2025 Arnold Steigman Excellence in Teaching Award from the New York State Academy for Public Administration (SAPA). The…

Rabbi Natan Levy Appointed Campus Rabbi for Syracuse Hillel and Jewish Chaplain at Hendricks Chapel

Syracuse Hillel has appointed Rabbi Natan Levy as campus rabbi. Levy, who most recently served as head of operations for the Faiths Forum for London and senior lecturer at Leo Baeck College in the United Kingdom, will also serve as…

Imam Amir Durić Appointed Assistant Dean for Religious and Spiritual Life at Hendricks Chapel

The University has appointed Imam Amir Durić as assistant dean for religious and spiritual life at Hendricks Chapel. Durić, who has served as Muslim chaplain at Hendricks Chapel since 2017, will provide visionary, inclusive and compassionate leadership to advance interfaith…

Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Celebrating Recent High School Grads

We asked faculty and staff to share photos of their favorite recent high school graduates. Congratulations to all, and good luck as you continue your journeys!

Bandier Students Explore Latin America’s Music Industry

Thirteen students from the Bandier Program in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications recently returned from a three-week journey through Latin America, where they explored the region’s dynamic and rapidly evolving music industry. The immersive trip, led by Bandier…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.